Stellan Bengtsson is a former Swedish Table Tennis player. He won as first Swede, the singles world table tennis championship in 1971. In total, Bengtsson has no less than 10 world championship and 13 European Championship medals to his credit.

Angie Bengtsson is a 10-time U.S. National champion and a 4-time Hall of Famer.

Daily Schedule

Morning Session: 9:30am – 11:30am

Lunch & Recess: 11:30am – 1pm

Afternoon Session: 1pm – 4pm

Practice: 4pm – 6pm

Cost: $500 per week

How do I sign up?

Please attach a check, made out to After School Learning Tree, and contact us here:

We have a rare opportunity to have former World Champion and World Class Coach, Stellan Bengtsson and his wife Angie who is a former US Champion coming to Oklahoma for clinics. The plan is to have them in Tulsa on April 27,28 and 29th and in Oklahoma City on May 3, 4 and 5th. If there is enough interest there will also be a coaching clinic on one of the days in between the two training clinics, for anyone who is interested in coaching others. Stellan and Angie are very excited about coming to Oklahoma.

Objective

What we do when we practice is to take out a couple of pieces from the pie and focus on them, meaning we train them intensely. When we are done training we put them back into the pie again, resulting in a stronger overall game.

Is it Worth it?

To reach your full potential as a Table Tennis player, you need a coach that you can trust, to see things in your game, that are difficult for yourself to see. Oftentimes we have no problem spending big money on equipment we believe in and sometimes we neglect good coaching that might improve our game much more than any equipment can do. Yes! It is really worth it, if you are serious about Table Tennis.

04.02.13 Deadline! – All openings need to filled by this date for the camp to take place.

04.05.13 – This is the due date for all payments.

04.27.13 – Tulsa camp starts.

05.03.13 – Oklahoma City camp starts.

*Capacity is limited and prepayment is required!!!

Three Day Camp
Cost: $300 (two 3 Day Camps at a total of $500)

Click here to register and fill out the form. Please make all the checks payable to Mats Johansson and post them to “4981 S 202nd E Ave, Broken Arrow, OK 74014”

It is highly recommended to utilize the discount offer available for those purchasing two 3 Day Camps.

Choosing two camps will allow you to find errors, make adjustments, and improve your skills, while also having a three day break before a new start to practicing these new adjustments with recharged energy for the second camp as the teaching is still fresh on your mind. Come and rise to your maximum potential.

If you cannot attend all 3 days included in a camp, we can try to make adjustments to split your days with someone else’s days.

The higher level a player competes at, the more important his or her physical training becomes. And while it is important to introduce physical training to younger players it should be done carefully and in a playful way so as not to scare them away. In the long run, as the young player looks to improve, physical training will naturally become a part of their training regime.

Physical training can be divided into four different categories:

Endurance

Strength

Speed

Flexibility

Endurance
Stamina is critical to maintaining a high level of play. When we tire, our concentration drops, we lose our footwork and our level of play drops. Good endurance will help us avoid those pitfalls.

Endurance training can be split into three areas, distance running, long interval running, and short interval running.

Distance running should be at least 30 minutes long. The pace should be kept at 60-70% of your personal maximum heart rate capacity. WE DON’T HAVE TO RUN TOO FAST.

Long interval training lasts approximately 3-5 minutes. It should include between 4-6 sets at 70% of your maximum heart rate. Always make sure you check your pulse to see that your heart rate is right. Start this training after you have reached a pulse rate of approximately 120/min. Between the intervals the pulse should go down to 120/min before you start the next set.

Short interval training is very good for table tennis players since it closely simulates the actual game play of our sport. Start by running for 70 seconds and then resting for 15 seconds. Do this exercise in sets of 6-8. An alternate training routine is running 15 seconds and then resting for 15 seconds 16 times. Do this exercise in sets of 3-5. At the start of both these exercises your pulse rate should be at 120/min. Resting time between sets should be long enough that the pulse drops back down to 120/min (approximately 1-2 minutes).

Strength/Speed
Strength and speed training are connected. We need both in order to be quick and to avoid injury as well as to improve our general athletic ability. The areas of the body that are the most important for table tennis are the legs, the body core and shoulders.

Higher-level players should use weights to build strength. However, it is important to remember that weight training can be harmful if the exercises are not completed properly so please consult with a physical trainer before beginning any weight program.

When working on strength you want to avoid building too much muscular volume or bulk. Keep in mind that the purpose of building strength is to improve movement at the table. The goal is to become faster and smoother at covering the entire table, in-and-out on short balls at the net, sideways out from the center of the table, and to the backhand. If you analyze your game honestly you can identify and work on the areas that need improvement.

Speed training should always be performed at maximum pace. If we do sprints at 20-30 yards, the resting time should be 10 times the sprinting time. To condition our legs, we can do various jumping and shadow drills.

The body core is also very important. We use our hips for rotating when we play. Try to have a good balance when working on the stomach and back areas. We should work a lot on the backside of the shoulder because we pull those muscles forward very quickly when playing the forehand strike.

Flexibility
Warming up before playing and stretching afterwards is a must. You shouldn’t get injured if you understand and practice this philosophy. A soft muscle is a lot quicker than a stiff and that is one reason why your flexibility is important.

Try to make physical training a part of your practice and you will be rewarded. Good luck!
-Stellan